CLOSER LOOK

CLOSER LOOK; New Measures Against Mad Cow Disease

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

Published: December 31, 2003

In an effort to strengthen protections against mad cow disease, the Agriculture Department issued a series of tougher regulations yesterday. The measures include a recall of more than 10,000 pounds of meat from 20 cows that were slaughtered with the sick cow in Washington State this month. Other steps are as follows:

Animals tested for mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, will no longer be marked ''inspected and passed'' until test results are confirmed. Under this rule, meat from any cow whose parts were being tested would be put on hold and would not enter the food supply.

Prohibiting for human consumption the skull, spinal cord and spinal nerve tissue of any cow older than 30 months. Also banned is the use of small intestines from cows of any age. Mad cow disease is believed to be spread through contaminated brain and spinal tissue.

A ban on using sick cows or ''downer'' animals, cows that cannot walk, in human food.

A ban on the pre-slaughter practice of using air injections to the head intended to stun cattle before slaughter. The measure would prevent any dispersal of brain tissue. Industry officials say the practice is no longer widely used. Instead a more common procedure involves driving a bolt into the cow's skull.